This invention relates to a total heat exchanger of the opposed flow type for use in heat exchanging ventilation apparatus or air conditioners for example and, more particularly, to a structure and manufacturing method of a heat exchanging member interposed between a supply air and an exhaust air.
In recent years, the importance of the ventilation has been being reevaluated as the thermal insulation and hermetic seal of a living space is strengthened in order to improve the heating and cooling effect. In order to achieve ventilation without damaging the heating and cooling effect, the heat exchange between the polluted indoor air and fresh outdoor supply air is effective. At this time, a significant effect could be expected if the exchange can be achieved not only in heat (sensible heat) but also in moisture (latent heat). In order to satisfy such the requirements, the opposed flow type total heat exchanger is used in which supply air and exhaust air flow in the opposite directions in the heat exchanging portion in order to improve the heat exchanging efficiency and a paper member having a moisture permeability is used as the heat exchanging member.
FIG. 29 is a perspective view illustrating a general structure of a conventional opposed flow type total heat changer disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-136787 for example, FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing the structure of a heat exchanging member constituting a main portion of the opposed flow type total heat exchanger shown in FIG. 29, FIG. 31 is an expanded perspective view showing the heat exchanging member shown in FIG. 30 and FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing the procedures for assembling a joint portion between the opposed flow portion and the header portion of the heat exchanging member shown in FIG. 30.
In the figures, 1 are heat exchanging members stacked as shown in FIG. 29, each of the heat exchanging members 1 is composed of a first paper member 2 corrugated in the widthwise direction and having a permeability to moisture, a pair of second paper members 3 and 4 of flat plate-shape and having one end joined to a substantially middle height portion of the corrugation of the longitudinal ends of the first paper member 2, and a plurality of closure members 5 joined so as to close triangular window portions defined in the waveform portion of the first paper member 2 by second paper members 3 and 4, 6 is a first seal member for alternatingly sealing the neighboring end portions of the second paper members 3 and 4 of the stacked heat exchanger member 1, 7 is a second sealing member for sealing the neighbouring end portions of the second paper members 3 and 4 alternatingly to the first sealing member 6, and 8 is a third sealing member for entirely covering and sealing the opposite end portions of each of the first paper members 2.
According to the conventional opposed flow type total heat exchanger as discussed above, a number of heat exchanging flow paths are defined between the first paper members 2 of the heat exchanging member 1, and one end of each of these heat exchanging flow paths is in communication with the portion of the end of the second paper members 3 and 4 that is not sealed by the first sealing member 6 and the other end of each of the heat exchanging flow paths is alternatingly communicated with the portion of the end of the second paper members 3 and 4 that is not sealed by the second sealing member 7.
Also, the supply air (shown by an arrow a in FIG. 29) and the exhaust air (shown by an arrow b in FIG. 29) supplied from the end portions of the second paper members 3 and 4 are exchanged with each other in terms of heat and moisture, i.e., exchanged in terms of total heat as they flow in alternatingly opposite directions through the heat exchanging flow paths defined between the first paper members 2 and then discharged from the side portions of the second paper members 4 and 3 (as shown by arrows c and d in FIG. 29).
In the conventional opposed flow type total heat exchanger, it is necessary to enable the heat exchanging member 1 to exchange also in moisture as discussed above, so that, as disclosed in Japanese Patnet Laid-Open Nos. 57-122289 and 59-24195 for example, it has not been possible to prepare the heat exchanging member by utilizing the plastic deformation such as the vacuum forming of a plastic sheet material or the press forming of a thin metal sheet, and they must be formed by the paper members 2, 3 and 4 as well as the closure members 5 which are impossible to be plastically deformed, disadvantageously resulting in a very poor productibility due to the difficulties in handling and joining the parts that are large in number and small in dimension particularly in the closure members 5.